The boat moved steadily through the water. Willow branches on the shore dipped into the river, creating ripples. The boatman tightened his raincoat, telling them it would take another night. As the sky darkened, Li Guanyu and Li Guanhang bid her goodnight and went to rest.
Xing Shuishui glanced at He Liansheng. The young man stood by the boat’s edge, staring into the thick fog, showing no intention of going inside.
Thinking about the Spirit-Trapping Pagoda still on him, Xing Shuishui spotted wine jugs in the corner and suddenly had an idea: getting him drunk might be more reliable than knocking him out.
She already knew fire could break the Red String technique, and she knew where the Spirit-Trapping Pagoda was hidden. She could leave anytime if she could steal it without anyone noticing.
So she walked over, arms crossed, feigning curiosity: “What are you looking at? You’ve been staring for almost the whole night. Are there spirits watching us?”
He Liansheng gave her a cold look: “If there were spirits, they’d eat you first.”
Xing Shuishui laughed: “With you here, spirits wouldn’t dare eat me. They’re scared just hearing your name.”
She leaned on the boat’s railing, the red ribbon tied in her braid floating behind her head. He Liansheng turned slightly. Her cheeks were flushed from the river wind. He had a sudden urge to pinch them hard enough to make her cry. Realizing what he was thinking, the young man’s expression darkened.
Unaware of his thoughts, Xing Shuishui pointed at the wine jugs: “Do you know what kind of wine this is? It smells so good! I noticed as soon as I got on the boat.”
He Liansheng glanced at them but said nothing.
The boatman set down his pole and spoke first with a smile: “This wine is called Peach Spring Jade Brew. Legend says the brave General Fu Qi would bring back a peach blossom branch after each victory, sending it to Xishan for brewing, along with many precious herbs from Luo Dan. That’s how this new wine was made. Over time, people started copying this – if someone in their family joined the army, they’d drink this Peach Spring Jade Brew for good luck.”
He placed several jugs on the table: “Noble warriors, if you don’t mind, please try some. You probably won’t find wine this good in Qingzhou.”
“But be careful – this fine wine gets you drunk easily.”
This was exactly what Xing Shuishui wanted to hear.
She rubbed her chin, pointing at He Liansheng’s Peach Spring Sword: “What a coincidence… this wine… called Peach Spring Jade Brew. Your sword… called Peach Spring Sword. He Liansheng, let’s try it.”
He Liansheng scanned the suspicious wine jugs and sneered: “Weren’t you bad with alcohol? Now suddenly you can drink well?”
He really knew how to bring up sore topics.
Xing Shuishui remembered when he forced her to drink realgar wine last time – it was both torturous and awful, like her stomach was being sliced apart. She said unhappily: “Realgar wine is harsh and tastes terrible, only you would force me to drink it. How can you compare that? I’m actually very good with alcohol, I have the best alcohol tolerance in the world, you just haven’t seen it.”
Determined to get He Liansheng drunk, she opened a jug: “Look how much is in this jug, I can’t finish it alone. It’s perfect for two people!”
Even with poor alcohol tolerance, she couldn’t be worse than He Liansheng who only ate fasting pills, she thought mockingly. Someone who never ate mortal food or drank would definitely pass out before her.
He Liansheng could guess her thoughts from her expression and felt utterly contemptuous. He didn’t want to waste time on such foolishness, but Xing Shuishui’s expression suggested she was certain about something.
The young man smiled sarcastically, set aside his Peach Spring Sword, and stared coldly into her eyes: “Xing Shuishui, you better drink as well as you claim. Otherwise I’ll throw you in the water to sober up, let you drink your fill all at once.”
The wine poured into cups, its fragrance spreading freely, overwhelming the river’s fishy smell.
It was indeed excellent wine.
Xing Shuishui loved it – it tasted wonderful. Who knew General Fu Qi, despite his bad temper, had such good taste in wine-making.
He Liansheng barely drank, watching as Xing Shuishui refilled his cup. The young man’s expression soured; he wanted to knock it away.
Yet Xing Shuishui looked up at him, smiling: “How is it? Isn’t it delicious, much better than fasting pills!”
He Liansheng responded emotionlessly: “Terrible.”
Xing Shuishui: “…”
She felt even if immortal wine were placed before him, He Liansheng would only say it was terrible. Such a person with no taste was just boring.
He Liansheng saw her expression and felt satisfied, spinning his cup on the table, its shadow crooked – what a cruel person.
Xing Shuishui poured him more wine, filling the cup nearly to overflowing. She seemed eager to pour all the wine into his cup, and soon the jug was empty. She placed it on the table.
While raising her sleeve, she caught sight of He Liansheng’s spirit sword again.
The orange lantern light was hazy in the fog, reflecting off the Peach Spring Sword’s silver blade. The sword gleamed like sunlight on an ice mountain, like melting snow.
Such a beautiful sword with such a lovely name.
Xing Shuishui couldn’t help asking: “He Liansheng, why is your sword called the Peach Spring Sword?”
Spirit swords were usually connected to one’s fate. Their names were chosen very carefully.
Unlike her own knife which was just a system carrier – back at the Guan family’s place, people always misheard it as Qitong.
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t. Knowing too much will get you killed faster.”
He Liansheng lowered his eyes impatiently: “Why are you called Xing Shuishui?”
Perhaps it was the wine making her thoughts wander. Xing Shuishui froze, suddenly remembering her parents from another world. Her eyes dimmed briefly before she quickly masked her emotions and smiled: “My fate lacks water, so… my parents named me Shuishui!”
The wine cup was empty again.
She held her cheek, opened a new jug to fill it, and continued: “Although… I’m quite afraid of water, and I’m not a good swimmer.”
“I told you about my name… now you should tell me why your sword is called Peach Spring Sword… or at least tell me why your name is He Liansheng.”
Her cheeks were slightly red, showing signs of intoxication.
He Liansheng’s face was cold, his tone increasingly harsh: “Xing Shuishui — are you drunk already?”
Xing Shuishui’s head was spinning a bit, but she insisted: “I’m not drunk… if anyone’s drunk it would be you first…”
Her consciousness was getting fuzzy, but she thought it was just her imagination.
She accidentally knocked over a wine jug, which shattered on the floor. She tried to dodge but lost her balance, sitting down hard. The red string connecting her to He Liansheng’s wrist was pulled and tangled – the more she tried to free herself, the more tangled it became.
The young woman looked up at him, her expression innocent and confused.
He Liansheng: “…”
He suddenly regretted not splitting these wine jugs in half earlier, or threatening to throw her in the water if she dared take a sip.
The young man stared at her for a long while, then finally gripped her cheeks roughly and pulled her up, saying coldly: “I don’t care if you’re drunk or not. If you don’t want to be thrown in to feed the fish, get inside.”
Xing Shuishui couldn’t stand steady at all. After getting up, she soon sat back down.
He tried to lift her again, but she dodged.
She looked up: “It hurts… carry me on your back…”
He sneered: “What kind of dream are you having?”
Xing Shuishui compromised: “Then carry me in your arms.”
He Liansheng: “…”
He really wanted to throw her overboard. If only there wasn’t this red string connecting their wrists. The young man was very impatient, finding her even more annoying, but had no choice. He roughly lifted her from the ground.
“Don’t move around.”
Xing Shuishui nodded obediently.
But soon after, her hands started grabbing at his collar.
He Liansheng stopped walking and warned her fiercely: “Xing Shuishui! Do you want me to throw you overboard?”
His features were extremely handsome, but his gaze was fierce enough to eat someone.
Xing Shuishui answered honestly: “No.”
“Then behave.”
The river wind was a bit cold, lifting her skirt slightly. Her gauze dress brushed against his skin with a soft touch. The peach blossom wine scent on Xing Shuishui was already fragrant, and now that she was drunk, the alcohol on her arms and clothes made it even stronger.
He Liansheng’s fingers gripping her arm were very stiff – it was his first time carrying a woman like this, and that restless feeling in his heart wouldn’t go away.
The young man suddenly remembered something and coldly questioned her: “Why do you keep following us? What’s your real purpose? Or is it — you want the Float Spirit Mirror?”
Xing Shuishui was confused for a while, then slowly replied: “So many questions… I’m not listening.”
He Liansheng truly, desperately wanted to stab her full of holes. He lowered his brow, his eyes seeming to hold an unshakeable dark cloud. Back inside the boat’s cabin, he threw her directly onto the bed, showing no gentleness whatsoever.
In an instant, his sword was at her throat. He Liansheng questioned again: “Why are you following us? And don’t try to be clever with me. It won’t work.”
Killing intent lurked all around.
Xing Shuishui seemed not to notice the sword, saying: “You ask this… let me think…”
After a moment, she had an answer: “I remember… I’m not following them. I’m only following one person.”
“Who?”
Xing Shuishui acted mysterious, smiling: “Come closer, and I’ll tell you.”
Though suspicious, the young man temporarily withdrew his Peach Spring Sword and crouched down. The young woman supported herself on the cold floor, slowly raising her head. The scent of peach blossom wine seemed to ferment in the air.
Almost against his ear, she whispered a name.
“He Liansheng.”
He Liansheng froze.
The red tassels of the lantern under the eaves swayed in the river wind, sometimes shrouded by mist, sometimes emerging, mysterious and elusive.
Her voice grew softer and softer.
“Though my intentions aren’t pure. But I won’t harm him.”
“If I had the chance, I’d tell him that those three days holding an umbrella at Fanxin Cliff. I was sincere.”
“If one day… I truly do something to wrong him… I hope he can forgive me.”
“A man like him… is too twisted.”
By the end, only the final sound remained before she fell asleep on the bed.
Inside the cabin, the silence was terrifying.
After all that nonsense, he still didn’t know her purpose or what she wanted to obtain, yet he hadn’t taken her life when he had the chance. Xing Shuishui turned over, completely unaware she had escaped death.
He Liansheng sat casually by her bed, staring at her sleeping face – so quiet, so well-behaved.
She said. Those three days on Fanxin Cliff, she was sincere.
Xing Shuishui loved to lie. And this statement, he couldn’t tell if it was true or false.
The young man lowered his eyelids, sneering: “Xing Shuishui, I’m waiting.”
Waiting for her to drop her act. Also waiting for the day he’d catch her fox tail.
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